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Pontic College <Serus. 



Number v^w^.^..^,^ ^^ ^^^^^^..^.^ Tireiifij-Eif/hf, 



HOUSEKEEPEK'S 



GUIDE. 



4 i ijij%J 



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NEW YORK: 
PHILLIPS & HUNT 

CINCINNATI: 
WALDEN & STOWE. 
, 1883. 



^, 



The "Home College Series" will contain one hundred short papers on 
a wide range of subjects — biographical, historical, scientific, literary, domes- 
tic, political, and religious. Indeed, the religious tone will characterize all 
of them. They are written for every body — for all whose leisure is limited, 
but who desire to use the minutes for the enrichment of life. 

These papers contain seeds from the best gardens in all the world of 
human knowledge, and if dropped wisely into good soil, will bring forth 
harvests of beauty and value. 

They are for the young — especiall}' for young people (and older people, 
too) who are out of the schools, who are full of "business" and "cares," 
who are in danger of reading nothing, or of reading a sensational literature 
that is worse than nothing. 

One of these papers a week read over and over, thought and talked about 
at "odd times," will give in one year a vast fund of information, an intel- 
lectual quickening, wortli even more than the mere knowledges acquired, a 
taste for solid read'ng, many hours of simple and wholesome pleasure, and 
ability to talk intelligently and helpfully to one's friends. 

Pastors may organize "Home College" classes, or "Lyceum Reading 
Unions," or "Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circles," and help the 
young people to read and think and talk and live to worthier purpose. 

A young man may have his own little " college " all by himself, read this 
series of tracts one after the other, (there will soon be one hundred of them 
ready,) examine himself on tbem by th.e " Thought-Outline to Help the Mem- 
ory," and thus gain knowledge, and, what is better, a love of knowledge. 

And what a young man may do in this respect, a young woman, and both 

old men and old women, may do, 

J. H. Vincent. 
New York, Jan., 1S83. 



Copyright, 1883, by Puillu'S & Hunt, New York. 



ioim Colltgt Scrits. Iliimbtr ttAucntn-ngbt. 



HOUSEKEEPER'S GUIDE. 



The first essential is cleanliness, both in person and sur- 
roundings. Because one is engaged in rough work there can 
be no need for being slattendy in person. A dress made and 
kept for a work-dress, short enough to clear the ground by 
several inches; a large work-apron that comes to the bot- 
tom of the skirt and fastens behind, with a bib attached to 
protect the waist ; a sweeping-cap, or an old handkerchief 
or veil, tied over neatly-combed hair when at work that is 
dusty, and a neat linen cap kept to wear when making 
bread — these will sufficiently protect one from soil. If be- 
neath the work-apron is worn over the dress a nicer and 
smaller apron, and about the neck a clean collar, one may in 
a few moments remove all the special woik-tixings and ap- 
pear as a neatly-dressed lady. Before one begins to learn 
the art of cookery she needs to learn the art of keeping her 
kitchen clean ; of washing cooking utensils at the most con- 
venient moment after use, and never putting them away in a 
soiled condition ; of having " a place for every thing, and 
every thing in its place," etc. A very convenient kitchen- 
dresser is made thus: The dresser itself is simply a long, 
rather narrow table to be used for a kitchen table ; beneath 
it are two cupboards, each closed by doors. One cupboard, 
being intended to hold pots, pans, etc., should have no shelf; 
the heavy pots stand upon the floor of the cupboard, the lighter 
pans, etc., are hung around it on hooks. The other cupboard 
has one shelf, and is meant to keep tin-ware in. Immediately 
beneath the dresser-table and above the cupboards should be 
drawers for holding kitchen towels, disli -towels, etc. One of 
these drawers should be not quite so deep as the other, so 
that it may allow above it a space, as if for a drawer, but 



HOUSEKEEPERS GUIDE. 



exactly fitted to hold the bread-board ; into this space the 
bread-board slides in and out as a drawer into the receptacle 
pre2:)ared for it. This dresser may have above it several 
shelves left without doors; on these shelves are kept salt, 
pepper, a small vessel for flour, dredging-box, etc. On one 
end of the dresser a strip of leather may be nailed so as to 
hold the kitchen knives. These knives should be at least 
three: a meat knife^ a large bread-knife, and a small, thin- 
bladed knife with a woodeu handle, suitable for cutting and 
preparing vegetables. Keep for the kitchen large iron spoons; 
have suitable hooks to hang them on and learn to keep them 
in place, so that no time may be lost in searching for them. 
A second direction which seems to be quite as essential as 
the place for every thing might be summed up as " a time 
for every thing, and every thing in its time." In respect to 
time make your own rules. Refuse to be guided by old ^taud- 
ard traditions which will inform you that " early rising " is 
a prime necessity in housekeeping. If there are members of 
your family needing an early breakfast, of course you must 
rise early; if, on the contrary, the work of the male members 
of the family is such that they need to rest in the morning 
hours, don't exhaust yourself by rising hours before the 
family breakfast can be eaten, and working with an exhausted 
feeling on an empty stomach. Take all the circumstances 
of your family life into consideration; make a plan which 
shall include the hours for the daily meals and the different 
duties to be done U23on each day, etc. Don't be slavish fol- 
lowers of any body's plan, but have a definite time — that 
which you find suits you best — for the washing, ironing, 
sweeping, mending; put all the little items into the plan, 
such as cleaning and filling of lamps. After having adopted 
the plan, make no changes unless experience shall show them 
to be very desirable, for it soon becomes a comparatively 
easy matter to follow a routine, and much time is often lost 
by the perplexing question, "What shall I do next?" 



HOUSEKEEPER'S GUIDE. 



You will find that the little details are the ones that reveal 
the systematic housekeeper. Thus, if an early breakfast is de- 
sired, the table will be set the evening before; the kindlings 
for the fire, if she cooks by wood, will be all ready over- 
night. If she is in a hurry for tea or coffee, her kettle will 
soon be singing its merry tune, for at first she will only put 
in a little more than the water necessary for the coffee; after 
this has boiled and the coffee is made, the kettle will be filled 
up for the after-breakfast dish-washing A less thoughtful 
one would have filled the kettle at once and anxiously waited 

for it all to boil. 

Servants. 

If you have servants you must be prepared to see them 
blunder; in America, where servants usually have no especial 
training, the housekeeper will find it necessary, gently and 
patiently, to teach by " line upon line, precept upon pre- 
cept." Many a housekeeper will tell you that, after just 
such teaching, her servant has suddenly left because she 
found skilled service would bring higher wages. There is 
nothing to do in such a case but to begin again, comforting 
one's self by the thought that somehow, somewhere, the sum 
total of human comfort has been increased because of her 
teachings. But a little thought for the personal comfort of 
a servant ; the seeing that her bedroom arrangements are 
made really neat and desirable ; occasional hints and assist- 
ance as you see lier striving to make her own dresses, etc.; 
the loan of a book, if she can read ; gentleness and patience 
always — these will do much to attach a servant to one. But 
in this case, as Mr. Ruskin has shown us in regard to all 
employers and employes, he who works from the low, selfish 
motive of thus securing good service for himself will fail. 
It is only when, forgetting the selfish motive, we really love 
and desire the good of a servant that we also win the lower 
good. "In this case, too, 'he who loseth his life shall save 
it.' " One little item in regard to a servant's health should 



HOUSEKEEPER' a GUIDE. 



be mentioned here: If her duties require her to be several 
hours at work before her breakfast hour, give her directions 
to take, soon after rising, a cup of tea or coffee and a slice 
of bread and butter. 

Children. 

Teach them to wait upon themselves. There's an old 
Scotch proverb, " Bairn's work's aye more plague than 
profit." That is certainly so, unless we look for profit to 
the coming years. Are we to be simply housekeepers, or 
home-keepers as well ? If the latter, we will select little 
parts of the home work, suited to the weakness of a child, 
requiring no long, monotonous attention; and, having assigned 
this bit of work to him, we shall regularly and systematically 
require it at his hands. At first it may be done blunderingly, 
and you may find it necessary to point out defects; but if 
this criticism is kind and encouraging you will soon find the 
skill increasing by practice, and not only will the child be 
growing useful, but the sense of increasing usefulness will 
have a happy influence upon his entire character .md temper. 
Besides the piece of household w^ork thus definitely assigned, 
let the little one feel that he is expected to repair, as far as 
possible, the disorder he himself occasions; let brothers and 
sisters each feel responsible for the putting away ^f iheir 
own toys, the gathering together of their own blocks or 
books, the cleaning away of litter caused by their own plays. 

Rules for Cookery. 

Just here we have little room for set rules or recipes in 
regard to simple dishes, and it seems more desirable to 
furnish definite principles and rules. The first which I shall 
name, being strictly moral, we may designate as a principle 
in cooking, which is under no circumstance to be departed 
from; the others, which may admit of variations, are simply 
rules. 

Our Principle. — Facts, which I have now neither time nor 



HOUSEKEEPER'S GXJIDE. 



space to examine, have shown that alcoliol, taken into the 
human system, is always a poison. Discard it, then, from our 
cookerv. Let us use neither wine, brandy, nor cider, for this 
last so readily undergoes fermentation that we can rarely 
procure it quite sweet. If mince-pies made without it nre 
not palatable to your family, learn that tlie pies themselves 
are not essential, but may easily be replaced by more health- 
ful and equally palatable dishes. 

Rule 1. — Meats put into cold water and then slowly cooked 
yield up their juices to the water; the meat becomes com- 
])aratively worthless and innutritions, and the broth in which 
it has been cooked contains most of the value. We will, 
therefore, when we wish soup, cut the meat up into bits, put 
it into cold water, let it heat gradually, simmer slowly for 
hours, then strain out the meat. 

On the contrary, the application of heat, as of boiling 
water, coagulates the surfaces of the meat, and the juices are 
retained in its interior. If, therefore, we wish the meat, not 
the soup, we will immediately apply boiling water when we 
begin to cook it. But sometimes we may wish a good 
serviceable ])iece of meat and an accompanying nutritious 
broth ; we do not wish, either, to secure all the advantage. 
In this case we shall put the meat into cold water, bring it 
rapidly to a boil, and allow it to cook moderately for hours; 
we shall then have a nutritious dish of meat and a good 
broth or gravy. If meat is salted, as corned beef, we shall 
put it on in cold water, for this method will draw aw^ay some 
of the superfluous salt. 

Ride 2. — About acids and alkalies. If you mix soda, wdiich 
is an alkali, with an acid, you may see it bubble and boil, or 
effervesce. You may notice this effervescence in the 
Sedlitz powders used for medicine. If this effervescence 
had taken place in a piece of dough it would have lightened 
the dough; that is, the gas formed by the mixture in en- 
deavoring to escape would have filled the dough with little 



HOUSEKl^EPER'S GUIDE. 



pores. If notliiiig further were done to tlie dough the gas 
would all escape, and the little pore.s which had held it would 
settle down into a solid mass again. Now, if we take this 
dough while it is light and bake it, the walls of each little 
pore become hardened into shape, and cannot fall back after 
the evaporation into a solid mass. This is the way by which 
baking-powders, soda, cream tartar, etc., lighten bread. 
Now, the more accurately these two ingredients are propor- 
tioned to each other the more thorough will be the efferves- 
cence; the sooner a rapid heat is applied the lighter will be 
the bread. Should the soda predominate, the bread will look 
yellow and taste soapy; should the acid predominate, the 
necessary degree of lightness cannot be obtained, and the 
acid taste will be communicated to the bread. 

It will usually be found a good plan to add both soda and 
acid at the same time to the dry flour, having mashed pre- 
viously all lumps which may have been found in either; the 
flour may then be sifted several times, which will thoroughly 
mix them. The effervescence will not begin until moisture 
is applied; therefore, before you begin to wet it up, be sure 
you have a quick oven for baking, have the pan into which 
you are to put the bread read)^ heated, and let the mixing 
process be as raj^id as possible. Since all the bought bak- 
ing-powders are but various forms of alkali and acid, we 
have but to choose tliat which we consider most reliable, 
(remembering that, in this case, a cheap one may prove 
Anally the most expensive,) and observe the same rule : 
thorough mixing while dry, rapid wetting up of the dough, 
putting into a heated pan, and baking in a quick oven. 

Never use soda without an acid; if you have a recipe 
which mentions none rest satisfied the recipe is worthless. 
The acid may be sour milk, buttermilk, lemon, or even mo- 
lasses; with either of these soda will make a successful effer- 
vescence, but unless there is some acid the soda will be 
deleterious. 



II01TSEKEEPEIV3 OVIDE. 



Rule 3. — Any substance easily scorched, siicli as milk, must 
be put into the inner vessel of a double boiler; the outer 
vessel is to be tilled with water. The boiling of water in the 
outer vessel will communicate the necessary amount of heat 
to the inner one, a'nd obviate all danger of scorching. 

Rule 4. — Broiling is a much more healthy and nutritious 
method of preparing meats than frying; but if it is intended 
to fry an article, use plenty of lard at first and have it boil- 
ing hot. By this process a brown crust is at once formed 
upon the surface, and the meat or fish absorbs no more of 
the grease, but is cooked by means of the penetrating heat 
that surrounds it. This sudden dipping into the boiling 
lard is designated by French cooks as a " surprise." Be sure 
your lard is simply boiling, not burning, (when the lard 
smokes it is burning — the correct heat is when a filmy kind 
of look appears upon the top of it;) and so soon as the "sur- 
prise " shall have accomplished its object remove the vessel 
to a cooler part of the stove and allow the heat to cook the 
inner surfaces more gradually. You may be surprised to 
learn that this is not only the most healthful but also the 
most economical use of lard. If a different process is pur- 
sued, that is, a little lard moderately heated to begin with, 
the meat or fish soon absorbs it, and you will find it neces- 
sary to add more to avoid burning; this also is soon absorbed, 
and by and l^y there is a greasiness throughout the entire text- 
ure of the frying substance, and you will, by actual measure- 
ment, find that the latter method consumes the most lard. 

Rule 5.- — It is always more expeditious when mixing a 
compound to measure, rather than weigh, the ingredients. I 
knew a lady who re- wrote each v/eighed recipe in her cook- 
book that she had occasion to use. Her method was this: 
After weighing the article it was measured in a little set of 
tin measures kept for the })urpose, a statement of the result 
was made, and in all future use of the same recipe she had 
but to measure. 



8 HOUSEKEEPER'' S GUIDE. 

In regard to weighing, Mrs. Whitney gives a valuable hint 
in her "Cook-Book for Beginners; " it is this: Preserve with 
care the paper bags which come from the grocer's; when 
you wish to weigh put sugar, butter, or flour into these bags, 
and you will have no need of deducting weight of vessel or 
plate; there is no need to take account of the weight of the 
paper bag, as that is so slight. 

Hide G. — Don't consider it a point of economy to do with- 
out the proper cooking utensils ; such a course is simply 
" penny wise and pound foolish." You may do without the 
double boiler for articles easily scorched, but you will soon 
waste enough by the almost inevitable scorching to have 
paid for the boiler; without this boiler the occasional waste 
continues indefinitely. The ordinary broilers that come with 
a cook-stove are not likely to be successful except in the 
hands of a skillful and experienced person; but there are 
modern broilers, costing from seventy-five cents to one dollar, 
according to size, that can scarcely fail. These are circular and 
have two sides, opening with a hinge; each side is perforated 
freely, (it is not quite so thoroughly perforated with holes 
as is the cane seat of a chair;) the meat is inclosed between 
the two sides and shut up securely; you have but to take hold 
of the handle (a wooden one) and put it over the fire, keej^- 
ing it frequently turned, at least every half minute, to pre- 
vent burning. For want of just such a convenience for 
broiling, many a cook continues the slave of the frying-pan. 
One may easily estimate justh ow many pounds of lard will 
pay for the broiler; and remember, such a purchase will save 
not only the quantity calculated, but an indefinite number. 
There is one little article, costing from five to fifteen cents, 
which every kitchen needs. It is sometimes called an iron 
pot-rag; it is not a rag at all, but is made by the linking to- 
gether of rings, somewhat as in a coat of mail. By this link- 
ing a fabric is formed, (say about four inches by eight for 
the five-cent ones, larger and finer for higher price,) 



HOUSEKEEPER'S GUIDE. 



which is an admirable pot-washer. Its use will save the 
wearing away of the edge of many a valuable knife, and 
it scrapes away the cooked substances that may adhere to 
the sides of a pot with far more pleasantness and expedition 
than can be done by any knife. 

In order to have a dinner at a certain time one needs to 
know the probable length of time required by each article 
she is to cook; she wall thus avoid having one article done 
and becoming cold or spoiled by w^aiting, while another 
article is behind time. It is convenient to have a time-table 
made out and put upon the kitchen wall. If copied upon a 
sheet of paper, pasted upon paste-board and hung upon a 
nail, it will be convenient to refer to. This time-table also 
points out the desirability of an accurate time-piece upon 
the kitchen mantel. If such a convenience is provided, in- 
clude the w^inding of it among your little details, and plan a 
time for it, so that, having once formed a routine habit, you 
may not easily forget it. 



Time-table. 



Bakfd Mi:at8. 

Beef, 7 or 8 lbs U lirs. 

Beef, 10 lbs '1 " 

Mutton, 8 lbs. . 4 " 

Yeal, 8 lbs 4 " 

Pork, 8 lbs 4 - 

A large turkey 2^ to B " 

A large goose 2 " 

Chickens 1 to U " 



Boiled Meats. 

Corned beef 4 

Smoked tongue 3 

Veal 3 

Hani 5 

A large turkey 3| 



hrs. 



Laro-e fish boiled 15 rain. 



Boiled fish must be covered with water two inches over 
the top. A whole fish is put in cold water; sliced fish in 
boiling, salted water. In giving directions for length of 
time, some meats, as corned, are to be put in cold water. 
Calculate from the time it beoins to boil. 



10 nousEKjr.EPER's omnju. 

Potatoes, peas, asparagus, corn, and rice, thirty minutes; 
young turnips, young beets, tomatoes, and onions, forty-five 
minutes ; young cabbage, string beans, winter squash, 
spinach, and cauliflower, one hour; winter cabbage, winter 
carrots, and old beets, two hours. 

In cooking beets never cut the root or the red juice or 
blood will boil out and the appearance of the beet will be 
spoiled. Instead of a beautiful red it looks like a dirty pink 
color. In cooking potatoes choose as nearly as possible those 
of the same size for one meal. Where a difference in size 
is unavoidable, put them to cook with the largest at the bot- 
tom and smallest on top. Put old potatoes into cold water; 
put new ones into boiling water. Boil old potatoes until al- 
most done; pour the water off, lay over them a folded cloth, 
put on the lid, and let them stand on a hot part of the stove 
till done, which will be in about five minutes. This will 
make them mealy. When washing cabbage cut the cabbage 
into quarters, put them into a pailful of cold water with a 
handful of salt. This salt causes all creeping things that 
may be among the leaves and stalks to come forth. Such 
vegetables as cabbage need, when cooked, to be lifted from 
the water with a ladle that is perforated, thus forming a 
convenient colander. Green vegetables are done when they 
sink to the bottom of the pot. 

When breaking eggs for puddings, cakes, etc., break each 
^gg separately into a saucer. If good, you may then sli|) it 
into the basin, and your saucer is ready for the next. With- 
out this precaution you may, when almost all your eggs are 
broken, have the whole lot to throw away by getting a bad 
one among them. Never throw away the fat from one 
cooking. It may, by clarifying, be fitted for future use. 
Put any fat you may have into a jar in the oven. When 
perfectly melted pour into a deep basin of hot water and 
set all aside to cool. When cold remove the fat or dripping, 
which will be a hard, thick layer on toj? of the water. Scrape 



IIomEKEEPElVS GUIDE. 11 

off all sediment adhering to the bottom of the cake of fat, 
wipe the cake, and net in a cool place for use. 

To draw a fowl: Put on a large cotton apron, jnck off 
all the feathers you can, singe all too small to be pulled out 
by the fingers. Put the bird breast undermost on a tabl«-. 
Along the back of the neck, from the body to the head, 
make a slit one inch long. After cutting off the head part 
the skin of the neck from the neck, and pull this skin back 
over the breast. Sever the neck from the body as close as 
possible. Pull out the crop very gently, which is just in 
front of the neck, and the windpipe. (The skin of the neck 
is left on, after the neck itself has been removed, that it 
may be neatly folded over the unsightly opening at the top 
of the fowl.) By cutting this rent in the back an inch 
longer toward the center of the bird, an opening will be 
formed by which all the inside may be removed, care being 
taken to leave the gall-bladder unbroken, for the breaking of 
this would impart a bitter taste to the entire fowl. 

The neck, the gizzard, liver, and heart are to be stewed 
for a number of hours in water, that they might make gravy. 

In this little tract mention has been frequently made of 
simmering. This simmering is a very slow boiling. The 
water must be kept in a gradual state of ebullition, never 
stopping entirely, never galloping at a rapid rate. In speak- 
ing of frying, instructions were given to boil in lard. There 
are some things, such as ham, sausage, etc., that are suffi- 
ciently fat to need no further addition of lard. These 
should be in a shallow frying-pan. Where frying implies 
boiling in lard, a deeper vessel, as a sauce-pan, should be used. 

When a joint of beef or mutton is roasting, if it is dredged 
with flour just before it is entirely done, it will soon assume 
a rich, brown creamy appearance, and the dredging will 
thicken the gravy. 



12 HOUSEKEEPEB'S OITIDE. 

On Choosing Meat. 

Beef, when good, is of a vivid red color, and the fat quite 
white. It must be firm to the touch. 

Mutton also is of a good red color when good, and the 
fat white, very firm, and with no lean in it. 

Pork should be of fine grain and even, with thin rind and 
firm fat. 

A ham may be tested by thrusting into it, near the bone, 
a long-bladed knife; when withdrawn it should be free from 
smell. 

Fish, when fresh, have bright prominent eyes, exceedingly 
stiff bodies, and brilliant red gills. 

The best Methods of Cooking the Joints of Beef. 

Cheek: hashed, minced, or stewed. 

Neck: useful in soup. 

Middle rib: roast. 

Fore-rib, sirloin: prime roasting joints. 

Rump: generally cut up into steaks. 

Flank, both thin and thick: boil. 

Shoulder: stew. 

To Make Bread. 

The first care in regard to the bread is the yeast. If you 
live in city or town, where you can buy good yeast-cakes or 
compressed yeast, it may be well to depend upon this, as 
wet, home-made yeast is troublesome, because of souring in 
summer and of freezing in winter. If, however, you cannot 
be sure of good, fresh yeast-cakes when you buy, better 
make your own yeast. 

Good Potato Yeast— Owe pint grated raw white potato ; 
one table-spoonful salt ; one half cupful brown sugar : mix. 
Over these poirr one pint bop water, three pints boiling water. 



HOUSEKEEPER'S GUIDE. 13 

(This hop water is made by simply boiling a handful of hops 
in about a (piart of water till reduced to one pint.) The 
pouring of the boiling water upon the grated potato will 
cause the mixture to thicken. Set it away till it grows milk- 
warm, then add the yeast (either cake or wet yeast) that is 
to lighten. In summer live hours, in winter seven or eight 
hours, will be necessary to lighten it for use. 

Hojy Yeast vnthout Potatoes. — Take one tea-cupful of 
hops ; boil for twenty minutes in two quarts of water, and 
strain into a pitcher; put in a bowl one pint sifted flour; add 
table-spoonful of salt. So soon as your hop liquid is strained, 
wdiile still boiling hot, begin to pour over the sifted flour in 
bowl, stir as you pour, beat to a smooth paste, put it back 
into the kettle, and stir till it thickens; if too thick add 
water to thin it. When milk- warm add the yeast, and, as with 
the potato yeast, set in a warm place to lighten. In winter, 
yeast set to rise must be placed very near the stove; in sum- 
mer you may put it in any part of the room. 

To Make the Bread. — This is sometimes made with a 
sponge flrst. Sometimes the dough is worked up at once. If 
you are to set a sponge stir up a smooth batter overnight. This 
batter must be tolerably thick, so that the flour shall not set- 
tle at the bottom and the water rise to the top. Nothing but 
yeast, flour, and milk-w\arm water is to be put into the batter. 
When setting the sponge in the morning it should be aliglit, 
spongy mass; it is now ready to make up the bread. Mix salt 
and a little bit of sugar into the flour; add the sponge, work- 
ing it till it becomes a dough; knead it, till it leaves no sticki- 
ness upon the fingers and feels ^^pringy to the touch; put it to 
rise again. No definite rtdes can ]:)e given in regard to the 
length of time required for this rising. This must depend 
upon the heat; and in regard to the amount of heat to be 
kept about it, so much will depend upon the time of the 



14 HOUSEKEEPERS GUIDE. 

yeai-, etc., tluit you will have to be guided, not by time, but 
by the condition of the dough. It will be ready to be 
molded into the pans so soon as it begins to crack. Turn 
upon the molding-board, having previously floured the 
board, and knead until it again assumes a state of pliability; 
form it into loaves, (moderate sized ones are preferable,) bake 
in sheet-iron baking j^ans — they are much better than tin. 
Before putting in the loaves grease the pans Avell ; let 
stand from one half to one hour, according to the weather, 
then bake. Have a warm oven, not hot. Marian ITarland's 
rule is: Have an oven such as you can bear your bare elbow 
in while you count twenty. The different sensitiveness to 
heat varies so much that this is scarcely a definite rule. In 
this matter of heat in baking you must learn by exjoerience. 
When bread is to be made without the previous sponge take 
milk-warm water, (never use water hot enough to scald the 
yeast,) add salt to the flour, make a large hole in the center 
into wdiich pour the yeast, then gradually work it up into a 
soft mass. No definite rule can be given here, for difference 
in the flour will affect the absorbing power of the dough ; 
let it be soft, however, as you can readily manage it. Knead 
on the board and proceed precisely as in previous method 
with sponge. 

In successful bread-making much depends upon proper 
adaptation of temperature during the process of lightening; 
therefore, a proper position near the stove at one seasoii of 
the year will be very improper for another. Very fair bread 
may sometimes be made by a novice because of a lucky hit, 
but to insure uniformly good bread one needs the result of 
much experience and experiment; therefore, do not allow^ a 
few failures to discourage you, but experiment and experi- 
ment until you fairly earn the title of " lady " in its old 
Anglo-Saxon significance, for in the early ages of the lan- 
guage this word meant a *' loaf -giver " or "loaf-producer." 

Alluding to this meaning a well-known English writer has 



HOUSEKEEPER'S GUIDE. 15 

said, "Cooking means the knowledge of all herbs and fruits 
and balms and spices ; of all that is healing and sweet in 
tields and groves, and savory in meats ; it means carefulness, 
inventiveness, watchfulness, willingness, and readiness of 
appliance ; it means the economy of your great grandmother 
and the science of modern chemists ; it means much tasting 
and no wasting; it means English thoroughness, French art, 
and Arabian hospitality ; it means, in short, that you are to 
be perfectly and always " ladies," " loaf-givers." 

Here is an interesting account of the manner in which 
Mrs. Carlyle established her claim to true ladyhood. 



AN EPISODE OF MRS. CARLYLE'S HOUSEKEEPING EXPERIENCE. 

Our home was a most dreary, untoward place, sixteen 
miles from any of the conveniences of life, shops, post-otlice, 
etc. We were very poor^ and I, an only child, who had 
been reared in affluence, was sublimely ignorant of every 
branch of useful knowledge, though a capital Latin scholar 
and a very fair mathematician. It became my duty now to 
learn to sew, to cook, etc. The bread, above all, bought at 
the meanest market-towai, soured on my husband's stomach, 
and it was plainly my duty as a Christian wife to bake at 
home. I sent for a cook-book and went to work, but, knoAv- 
ing nothing of the process of fermentation or the heat of 
ovens, it came to pass that one o'clock at night struck and 
found me still w^atching my bread; two, three. I flung my 
head on the table and sobbed aloud. How keenly I felt the 
degradation, that I, who had never been required to do any 
thing but cultivate ray mind, should have to pass all these 
hours watching a loaf of bread — which might not be bread, 
after all ! Then somehow there came to me the thought of 
Benvenuto Cellini sitting up all night and watching his 
Perseus through the furnace, and I thought, "In the sight 
of the Upper Powers, where is the mighty difference between 



16 HOUSEKEEPER'S GUIDE. 

a statue and a loaf of bread ? " The man's determined will, 
his energy, his patience, his resources, were the really ad- 
mirable things. Had he been a w^oraan living hei-e, with a 
dyspeptic husband, no baker nearer than six miles, and he a 
bad one, these same qualities w^ould have come out more 
fitly in a loaf of bread. And so I learned the meaning of the 
present, that not the greatness or littleness of the work 
nearest hand, but the spirit in which one does it, makes the 
doing noble or mean. 



"She looketh well to the ways of her household, and 
eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and 
call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her." — « 
Peov. xxxi, 27, 28. 



The Housekeeper's Motto. 

"The trivial round, the daily task, 
May furnish all I need to ask : 

Room to deny myself, a road 
To lead me daily nearer God." 



Read the wnse man's description of the housewife, as given 
in Proverbs xxxi, and note how in the description there is an 
equal balance drawn between beauty and utility; in one 
hand, food and flax for life and clothing ; in the other, pur- 
ple and needle-work for honor and beauty. Beauty will be- 
come a very noticeable quality with the queenly housewife, 
and she will be found taking pride in her pretty cloth and 
her glittering shelves as well as in her well-dressed dish and 
full store-room, the care in her countenance will alternate 
with gayety, and though she may be reverenced in her 
seriousness she will be best known by her smile. 



[thought-outline to hklp the memory.] 

1. Hous^ekeepers' outiit? Method as to time and place? 

2. Getting work done by others ? Teucning them ? 

3. A moral principle in cookery ? 

4. Eules? Meats? Bread? Weights and measures? The time-table ? Fowls? 

Vegetables ? 

5. How to choose meats? How to cook certain Jiieats ? 

6. Bread-making? Yeast? The oven? Anglo-Saxon word "Lady" — loaf- 

giver? Mrs. Carlyle's experience ? 



OZEI^^XJT-i^XJQTJ.^^ TEII^^T-IBOOI^S. 



CENTS. 

No. 1. Biblical Exploration. A Con- 
densed Manual vu How to Suidy llie 
Bible. By J. II. Vincent, D.D. F-ill 
and rich ' lu 

No. '2. Studies of the Stars. A Pocket 
Guide to the Science of Astronomy. 
By H. W. Warren, D.D 10 

No. 3. Biijle Studies for Little People. 
By Eev. B. T. Vincent 10 

No. 4. English History. By J. H. Vin- 
cent, D.D 10 

No. 5. Greek History. By J. H. Vin- 
cent, D.D 10 

No. fi. Greek Literature. By A. D. 
Vail, D.D..... 20 

No. 7. Memorial Days of the Chautau- 
qua Literary and Scientific Circle. ... 10 

No. 8. What Noted Moti Think of ihe 
Bilde. l!y L. T. I'ownsend, D.D lo 

No. 9 William Cullon Bryant. : 10 

No. 10. Wliat is Kducaiion? By Wm. 

F. riielits, A.M 10 

No. 11. Socrates. By Prof. W. F. Phelps, 
A.M 10 

No. 12. Pestalozzi. Bv Prof. W. F. 
PiielpS A.M ■ 10 

Nr>. 13. Anglo-Saxon. By Prof. Albert 
S. Cnok 20 

No. 14. Horace Mann. By Prof. Wm. 
F. I'helps. A.M 10 

N.». fi. Froebel. By Prof. Wm. F. 
Phflps A.M... ; 10 

No. Iti. Roman History. B\ J. H. Vin- 
cent. D.D 10 

No. '7. Koger A>^chnm and John Sturm. 
Glimpses of Education in tiie Six- 
teenth Century Bv Prof. Wm. F. 
Phelps, A.M...!.....' 10 

No. 18. Christian Evidences. By J. H. 
Vincent, D.D 10 



Xo. 19. The Book of Books. By J. M. 

Freeman, D.D 10 

\n. 20. The Chautauqua Hand-Book. 

By J. H. Vincent, D.D 10 

Xo. 21. American History By J. L. 

Hu'il'ut, A.M 10 

N". 22. Biblical Biology. By Rev. J. 

H. Wythe, A.M., M.D 10 

No. 2.'i. P]nglish Literature. By Prof. 

J. H. Gilmore 20 

No. 21. Canadian History. By James 

L. Hughes .• 10 

No. 25. Self- Education. By Joseph Al- 

den. D.D., LL.D 10 

No 26. The Tabernacle. By Rev. John 

C. Hill 10 

No. 27. Readings from Ancient Classics. 10 
Ni>. 28. Manners and Custom.'.- of Bible 

Times. By J. M. Freeman, D.D. 10 

X'>. 29. Man's Antiquity and Language. 

By M. S. Terry, D.D 10 

No. ;;i). The World of Missions. By 

Henry K. Carroll 10 

No. 31." What Noted Men Think of 

Christ. Bv L. T. Townsend, D.D 10 

No. ••!2. A Brief Outline of tiie History 

of Art. Bv Miss Julia B. De Foiest. . 10 
No. 3'.. Elihu Burritt: "The Learned 

Bhirksmith." By Charles Northend 10 
No :;4. Asiatic Histoi'y: Chin.M, Corea. 

Japan. By Rev. Wm. Elliot Griflis.. 10 
Xo. :]ri. Outlines cI General History. 

iJy J. H. Vincent, D.D .'. IG 

No. 36. Assemblv Bible Outlines. By 

J. H. Vincent, D.D 10 

No. .37. Assemb'v Normal Outlines. By 

J. H. Vincent, D.D 10 

No. .38. The Life of Christ. By Rev. 

J. L Hurlbut, M.A 10 

No. 39 The Sunda\ -School Normal 

Class. By J. H. Vincent, D.D 10 



Published by PHILLIPS & HUNT, 805 Broadway, New York. 



